The event, organised by 92.3 K-Rock Radio at Irving Plaza, was the hottest ticket the city had seen since Madonna's gig at the Roseland Ballroom last month (November 5).

The hour-long worldwide broadcast featured material that spanned the band's career, from 1980's 'Boy' to 2000's 'All That You Can't Leave Behind'. Bono dedicated 'Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of' to Michael Hutchence, the former INXS frontman who died in 1997, and mourned the recent break-ups of Rage Against the Machine and Smashing Pumpkins before launching into 'Desire'. During 'Mysterious Ways', he ventured into the crowd, letting them support him while he sat - and sang - upright.

In homage to quintessential New York act The Ramones, a group Bono said influenced U2 a great deal over the years, the Irish quartet covered the punk rockers' 'I Remember You'. They closed the night with The Who's 'Won't Get Fooled Again'.

Fans, most of them diehards, were elated from the moment the band took the stage. "It's the best show I'll ever see in my entire life," said a breathless Kathleen Meade of Queens, New York afterwards. "I don't think I could ever see anything this intimate, because when you go to the stadium shows they're great, but you're usually very high up and far away. It was definitely an awesome experience that I'll probably never have again."